In honor of Super Mario Bros 35th anniversary of the video game (released in 1985, two years after the arcade game launched), here's an amazing stop motion animation of the game in action. It took BigWendy over a week to create, using over 500 Rubik Cubes. Read the rest

Jeremy Hunter A.K.A. Ska Tune Network is on a mission to make ska covers of everything. No exceptions. Like the Borg, ska will assimilate all. The latest — victim? Beneficiary? — of their quest is SUPER MARIO: OTHERWORLD, a popular ROM hack of the original Super Mario World for Super Nintendo.

And this time, they has steel drums to help them. None of us safe from the groovy smiles they'll inflict upon us.

Just remember:

All games depict Super Mario as Mario's regular usual form. pic.twitter.com/hOX3WlIIex

— Super Mario Facts (@SuperMarioFact) April 6, 2020

This Person Is Determined to Make a Ska Version of Every Song, Ever [John Ochoa / Noisey] Read the rest

I don't know why this exists, but I'm glad it does. I just want to know how it sounds, and how it plays! I guess I'll have to visit Cranmer Guitars the next time I'm in Glasgow. Read the rest

Kosmic is the first human to beat Super Mario Bros in 4 minutes and 55 seconds, a time so good it is less than a second slower than the best tool-assisted speedrun. Mashable:

When Kosmic says he's tied with the [tool-assisted] run at 4-1, that means his inputs are matched up exactly with the program's and he can't physically do any better.

From there, Kosmic continues to nail everything almost perfectly, slipping up so minorly that most viewers who aren't familiar with the nuances of Super Mario Bros. speedruns won't even recognize when it happens.

As YouTuber and speedrunning historian points out in his thorough analysis of Super Mario Bros. speedruns, speedrunners have been whittling down the world record for well over a decade. Top runners are at a point where they can only hope to improve their times by shaving off milliseconds.

Supreme pixel-precise coordination is not enough: you have to know all the game's technical extremities to get close. Here's an explainer video (featuring one of Kosmic's earlier record runs) describing all the bugs and tricks exploited along the way. Read the rest

With just his violin and his hands, Sebastiaan Kulwanowski creates an amazing Super Mario Bros. soundtrack. He says on his YouTube page that he created this out of boredom – proof that boredom can be the perfect catalyst for creativity. Read the rest